NOT GUILTY PLEAS IN LIBBY LAKE SLAYINGS

Suspected gang members accused of shooting group of teens in Libby Lake Park

pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder charges in the deaths last month of two Oceanside teens shot in Libby Lake Park.

The four defendants had multiple firearms when they ambushed four teens in rival gang territory, killing two and wounding two, Deputy District Attorney Christine Bannon said.

The prosecutor said she does not believe any of the four victims were gang members, but gang wars play into the shooting motive.

“It appears to have been a retaliatory response in an ongoing gang rivalry,” Bannon said, but she declined to give further details.

Prosecutors charged Martin Melendrez, 21, Santo Diaz, 19, and Michael Zurita, 19, with two counts each of murder and attempted murder in the March 13 shooting.

The three were also charged with a special circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders, which could make this a death penalty case.

A fourth defendant, Kevin Brizuela, 17, pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges. He is being charged as an adult and faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. Because he is a minor, prosecutors cannot pursue the death penalty.

Vista Superior Court Judge Kimberlee Lagotta granted Bannon’s request to order all four to be held without bail.

Bannon said the defendants armed themselves and drove together to the park. Once there, they entered the park and opened fire on the four victims, who were seated on a couch near a makeshift memorial for victims of a previous homicide.

Melanie Virgen, 13, and Edgar Sanchez, 15, died at the site of the shooting. Two males, one 17 and the other 18, were wounded in the attack, which happened shortly before 9 p.m.

Police arrested the four suspects on Friday, hours after local and federal authorities served search warrants at five locations in Oceanside and Vista.

During the investigation, police seized a Toyota Tacoma registered to one of the suspects and similar to an extended cab pickup seen driving from the shooting scene.

Melanie’s family released a statement over the weekend expressing relief at the arrests and offering friendship to the families of the accused shooters. They also challenged the community to “take back your neighborhoods.”

Following last month’s shootings, Oceanside police stepped up patrols around Libby Lake Park, and council members vowed to bring more youth programs to neighborhoods targeted by violence. The city has had three homicides this year, and all of the victims were teenagers.